The Latest: No verdict yet in cop's fatal use of Taser
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Michigan state trooper Mark Bessner listens to Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Matthew Penney delivers his opening argument in Bessner's trial, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, Detroit. Bessner is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Damon Grimes in 2017. It's the second trial after a jury last fall couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP)
The Latest on the second-degree murder trial of a former Michigan trooper in the death of a Detroit teenager (all times local):
3:55 p.m.
Jurors have gone home after a brief period of deliberations in the trial of a former Michigan State Police trooper who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Detroit teen.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Damon (Da-MAHN') Grimes crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died after he was shot with a Taser in Detroit in 2017. Mark Bessner says he believed the 15-year-old was armed during a chase. But Grimes wasn't carrying a weapon.
Jurors heard closing arguments Tuesday and discussed the case for an hour. They will return Wednesday to Wayne County court.
It's the second trial for Bessner. His first trial last fall ended without a unanimous verdict.
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1:10 p.m.
A prosecutor is urging jurors to convict a former Michigan State Police trooper of second-degree murder in the death of a Detroit teen, saying there wasn't a "lick of common sense" in firing a Taser at a boy riding an all-terrain vehicle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Damon (Da-MAHN') Grimes crashed the ATV and died. Mark Bessner is on trial for a second time after the first trial last fall ended without a unanimous verdict .
The trial moved to closing arguments Tuesday after Bessner declined to tell his version of what happened in 2017 on a Detroit street. It was a major shift in strategy: He offered emotional testimony at the first trial, telling jurors that he believed the 15-year-old had a gun. Grimes didn't have a weapon.
Defense attorney Richard Convertino says the ATV was in poor condition and Bessner feared for his safety.
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11:19 a.m.
A former Michigan State Police trooper charged with murder in the death of a Detroit teen says he won't testify in his own defense.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mark Bessner is on trial for the second time after a jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict last fall. He testified at the first trial but told a judge Tuesday that he will remain silent this time. It's a major shift in strategy.
Damon (Da-MAHN') Grimes was 15 years old in 2017 when he crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died after Bessner shot him with a Taser on a Detroit street.
Prosecutors say the Taser was unnecessary and created a high risk of danger. At the first trial, Bessner told jurors that he believed Grimes was armed. The teen had no gun.